The military junta that controls Burma is one of the most brutal andrepressive on the earth. The democratically elected president andNobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyii, has been under arrestsince her election in 1990 and has seen thousands of her supportersarrested, beaten, murdered, raped, and tortured by the militaryrulers, yet she has never responded with hatred and violence in kind.She has continued to ask for a peaceful dialogue. The UN and theEuropean Union have condemned Myanmar and have threatened to imposefurther economic sanctions. The US has banned the import of Myanmarproducts since 2003. More and more jewelers, including Tiffany & Co.,are refusing to buy or sell gems originating from Myanmar.

The only weapons that the Burmese people have in their non-violentstruggle against this violent regime is the quiet determination ofSuu Kyii, known as "The Lady," and the sanction imposed by freenations that focus the world's attention on their struggle. By notbuying gems from Myanmar, we are giving them hope.

Can't agree with you on Burma. I was there less than three months ago
(see my 2005 Burma Journal http://www.rwwise.com/index_content.html)
For years the gem trade has been an underground lifeline to the small
miners of Mogok. Although the government does control a portion of
the gem trade, the larger portion is in the hands of small mom and
pop mining operations. I have visited the mines and done business
with several of these small miners.

Unlike the diamond industry that uses large amounts of capital and
exploits large scale deposits, most of the mining in and around Mogok
is too small to be the concern of the military. A lot of these goods
are sumuggled out of Burma and the military doesn't make a cent.

The junta doesn't give a damn about economic losses to the people of
the country, they are doing just fine, thank you.

Recently, the state department has reversed its ban on Burma
products that are exported as raw materials and finished in third
countries such as Thailand.

I was also in Burma recently and I would suggest you purchaseconservatively.

It takes years to establish a trusting relationships with miners.The closer you get to a mine the more likely you're to offeredfraudelent goods. I saw many synthetics and even the best of dealerscan be fooled especially since it's difficult to find access to amicroscope.

Lastly, the prices can be much higher. It's like trying to buyoranges in Florida, emeralds in Colombia or sapphire in Kashmir. Fora number of reasons, you are more likely to find a better bargainoutside of the main source.

First of all, just for the record, the country is now calledMyanmar. AS I understand it, the name Burma was actually given tothem by the British when they colonized. Myanmar was the originalname and with independence they decided to change back. It's sort oflike Peking and Beijing. The same thing is true with the Myanmarcapital it's gone back to Yangon from Rangoon.

Anyway, as far as gem buying. I was there last winter in Yangon andalso in Mandalay and the outskirts. It's a beautiful country andthey are very nice people. I preferred Mandalay. As to gem buying,market prices are pretty much set by the government and a veryrepressive government it is They take a cut of everything so pricesare not nearly as cheap as you might expect. Buyer beware is alsoeven more true than in other places because they'll try anything. Iwent to the jade market in Mandalay looking for rough. Didn't likewhat I saw there. The Chinese apparently get most all of the goodmaterial.

On the other hand, you can find things you're unlikely to find inother places. Corundums of all shapes sizes and colors areavailable. There's nice spinel. They've got their own brand of lapisand some interesting beryl in the aqua color range. There's also alot of off the wall stuff, rare.

There seem to be some deals to be found if you know about odd thingsthey don't know about. So gemological knowledge and some equipmentis extremely useful. As to getting stuff out? I believe it's stillillegal to bring anything back into this country and hard to getstuff out of there as I understand it. But I haven't been keeping upwith the laws on that.

Incidentally, I did end up getting some very nice jadeite rough thatis Burmese, but I didn't buy it in Myanmar.

(Washington, DC) Days before US Deputy Secretary of State
Robert Zoellick heads to Southeast Asia to attend a major
regional summit, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved the
extension of economic sanctions against the military regime
that rules the Southeast Asian country of Burma. In the midst
of a busy legislative session, US Senators voted 97-1 in
support of Senate Joint Resolution 18, a renewal of a total ban
on imports from Burma. The Senate action followed a similarly
favorable 423-2 vote by the House of Representatives on June
21st. US President George W. Bush is expected to sign the
renewal into law soon.
"We thank and commend the US Congress for this firm and
forward-looking policy," said Aung Din, a Burmese former
political prisoner and torture survivor who serves as policy
director at US Campaign for Burma. "Burma is not only an
embarrassment to the countries of Southeast Asia, it is
increasingly a threat to regional security. It is time for the
United Nations Security Council to act".
The timing of the vote and expected endorsement from President
Bush coincides with a major trip by US Deputy Secretary of
State Robert Zoellick, who will travel to Southeast Asia next
week to participate in the region's biggest annual summit, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional
Forum.The United States and the European Union have threatened
to boycott the summit the following year in 2006 if Burma's
military regime assumes the leadership of the organization as
scheduled. Several Southeast Asian Nations, including Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines have expressed their
discomfort with the possibility of a rogue nation such as Burma
chairing the region's most important body.
The original Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act 2003 was
adopted on July 28, 2003 by both chambers of US Congress and
signed byPresident Bush after Burma's military regime refused
to participate in talks with Burma's democracy movement
facilitated by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Instead of
working with Annan's office to help bring about change, the
regime locked up Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi
and killed dozens of her supporters in a nighttime massacre
near in Depayin, Burma. Suu Kyi's political party, the National
League for Democracy, won Burma's last democratic election in a
landslide, but the ruling generals refused to recognize the
result.
Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's democracy movement maintain a
policy of support for international sanctions. One month ago,
14 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, including Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, issued a public call for increased international
sanctions on Burma's military regime.
Burma's regime has recruited up to 70,000 child soldiers (far
more than any other country in the world), instituted a
nationwide system of modern-day slavery, driven out hundreds of
thousands of people from their native lands, used rape as
weapon of war against ethnic minorities, and imprisoned over
1,000 political activists.
After Aung San Suu Kyi's 60th birthday on June 19th of this
year, the United States raised the issue of Burma among members
of the UN Security Council. Six countries spoke in favor of
increased international action.

Several people on this list have recently visited Burma/Myanmar andcan attest to the conditions there and the state of the gem trade. Idon't want to start a political discussing on Orchid, but only wishto point out that the sanctions are indeed still in place, and thatthe world community is calling for a stronger economic boycot ofBurmese goods. The democratically elected president, Aung San SuuKii, is also supporting santions. For these reasons, I havepersonally decided not to use gems of Burmese origin in my work, andI inform my customers of this decision. I am joined in this decisionby many others in the trade. Stuller is no longer offering Burmesegemstones.

Myanmar may be a heavenly place to visit, but for those who livethere it is truly Hell. I pray that things will change there soon.